Not every person who writes experiences Writer’s Block. Some fortunate people don’t believe it even exists. They might say that they have good writing days and bad writing days. Days when pages flow from their fingers like water down Niagara Falls and days when the creek bed is so dry you have to dig to find water.
For me, Writer’s Block comes to me when I most want to write. When I am bored out of my skull and desperately need the distraction. Boredom, for me, is agonizing. I prefer busy days doing fulfilling things, of having to make the time to write. When all I have is time, when I am so bored that my mind dulls like an overused pencil, Writer’s Block tries to drown me.
What I prefer to do when Writer’s Block comes is find something to keep me busy that I love to do. Unfortunately, my favorite busy-ness is theatre, especially around show time. I don’t know if I will ever have that again.
If, like right now, I can’t go to the theatre, I like to take long walks and go for hikes, especially in places I’ve never been, because I also get bored with scenery. Unfortunately, I dislike the heat and direct sunlight and do not start my new job for another nine days, so I cannot afford to go anywhere new.
So, what do I do?
Netflix is rarely helpful for me, because I can get trapped in an endless loop of someone else’s stories. I love to read, and do so often, but the results are similar. So, again, what do I do?
Sometimes I do the dishes. If they aren’t so dirty that I need to remember how well I’ve cleaned them, my mind will drift and it will, on occasion, help. I have also been known to experiment with cooking and to clean things. However, when my mind is this dull those are only trappings to help keep me from losing myself.
Lately, what’s been working is playing The Sims. Mind you, I haven’t written anything more than this, but last week I couldn’t even write this so that should tell you something. The Sims is helpful because it provides me with a canvas on which to work. I can play with people and create their lives almost from scratch. My Sims are more than the game allows them to be. They have personalities that extend from my computer screen into my brain. I know them inside and out and I generally know how their lives are going to play out.
Hopefully, this is a fix that can get me through to the next time I have a life that is the kind of busy that I enjoy, or that allows me to experience enough of life that I can make it flow from my fingers instead of sticking to the walls of my brain like dried ink.
If you, like me, suffer from Writer’s Block, perhaps The Sims can help you as well.
